Pedal for bicycles and the like.



R. H. GULLEFORD. PEDAL FOR 'iBICYGLES AND THE LIKE. APPLICATION rlmfn MAY. 5. 1914.

1,109,585. Patentd Sept.1,1914.

-IIIIII Avri THE NORRIS PETERS CO.. FHOTD-LITHQ. WASHINGYUN, U. C.

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

RICHARD HENRY GULLEFORD, or sad. ALBANS, oHRIstrcHuRoH, NEW ZEALAND.

PEDAL FOR BICYCLES AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, RICHARD HENRY GnLLEroRD, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at 28, Oxley street, St. Albans, Christchurch, in the Dominion of New Zealand, have invented new and useful Improvements in Pedals for Bicycles and the like, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention relates to' pedals for-bicycles, tricycles and .thelike, its object being to provide/a construction which, by-reason of its conformity to the anatomy of the foot, will give increased comfort to the rider.

As hitherto constructed the two bars which constitute the tread of the pedal, have been disposed parallel with the crank-pin. The flexing of the fOOtiLt the'joint between the instep and the toes however, occurs in an oblique direction, the result beinglthat, in the case of a pedal of the abovementioned form, the strain is thrown largely upon one portion of the foot and so causes unnecessary fatigue to the rider and occasions considerable wearboth to the boot and the tread-bars of the pedal.

' It is 'the object of the present invention therefore to provide a construction whereby the pressure of the pedal will? be distributed.

evenly across the full width of the foot.

In carrying this object into efiect the invention consists in arranging the rearmost tread-bar parallel with the line of the said flexure of the foot when the latter is in place upon the pedal.

In order that the nature of theinvention and its construction may fully under stood, reference will now be made to the accompanying sheet of drawings in which Figure1. is a plan view of a pedal c011- structed in accordance with the present invention, Fig. 2. is a similar view showing irreversible form of the pedal, and, Fig. 3.-

is again a similar view illustrating an alternativeconstruction for that of Fig. '1.

In itsgeneral construction the pedal adheres to the well-knownpractice comprising a. sleeve 1 revolvably mounted upon the crank-pin 2 by means of ball-bearings or otherwise, such sleeve being provided at either end with webs 3 between which treadbars 4 and 5 extend.

According to the present invention the rearmost tread-bar 5, instead of being paral lel with the crank-pin as'heretofore, is disposed obliquely that is to say it extends from its outer end at an angle with "the crank-pin in an inwardly and forwardly direction so as to lieparallel with the line of the aforementioned flexure of the foot.

- In the form shown in Fig. 1, the forward tread-ban 4:is' arranged in the customary way, parallel with the crank-pin 2, while in that of Fig. 3, such tread-bard is parallel with the rearmost tread-bar 5, or approximately so. In both these forms however it will be seen that, to secure the advantages of the invention, it is necessary for the pedal to be placed the correct way up. It will be seen however thatowing tothe particular disposal of the weight in both these forms,

I Patented Sept. 1, 1914. Application filed May 5, 1914. Serial N 0-. 836,894.

the pedal whenvnot in usewill hang with the tread-bar 5 downward, from which posiis to say, used either way upwhile still preserving the desired angularity of the rearmost tread-bar. The invention is not however confined to any specific disposition of the forward tread-bar, but includeswithin its scope any arrangement of the pedal whereby the said angularity of the rearmost tread-bar is obtained. Itjis obvious also that the present invention appliesequally to whatever type of tread-bars may be employed, whether of the plain metal, rattrap rubbered or other form or composition. I

I olaim: A pedal for bicycles, and the like, having its rearmost tread-bar disposed at an angle with the crank-pin in an inwardly and forwardly direction from the outer extremity of such tread-bar, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses. v

I RICHARD HENRY GULLEFORD.

I Witnesses;

FREDERIO WILLIAM DALY, CYRIL CARLYN COATES. I,

Copies of this patent maybe obtained for five cents'each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, 5 Washington,ID. G. a T 

